Sieges come with a cost to everyone involved, and these are detailed in the new developer diary for Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord. TaleWorlds

It’s time for another in-depth look at one of the most highly-anticipated PC games in recent memory, as TaleWorlds has just released another developer diary for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord.

For this iteration, the developers are sharing some details on the improved siege mechanics of the game, which is one of the most exciting game elements to experience in Mount & Blade. As a general rule of thumb, anything that puts you under supreme pressure from various factions is an exciting endeavor to begin with, but imagine being under that with some added conditions like dwindling resources and wounded men to keep you on your toes. This is how a regular siege plays out in Bannerlord.

Sieges typically come as very dangerous affairs for both the one doing the sieging and the one defending from it. Usually, if your enemy is competent or has competent help, you will experience issues in a short manner of time. The situation plays out like so – you siege a stronghold with your troops, with many lives sacrificed in order to eventually come out on top. However, keeping the stronghold within your grasp is another matter entirely, as eventually, reinforcements will come to take it away from you. Meeting them head-on is suicide, especially if your troop numbers are dwindling, so you stay in the stronghold and defend it the best you can, fueling the vicious cycle.

Like its predecessors, Bannerlord will present you with choices on how you can best proceed once you find yourself besieged. One option is to bunker down and try to weather the assault, but this is only logistically possible if you have the resources needed to survive that time. Alternatively, you can sacrifice some men to allow your larger army to escape relatively unscathed. There’s also the option to ‘wuss’ out, by just handing the fort over to the besiegers in the hopes that they will show you mercy.

You can sacrifice some men for the greater glory, but it could raise some issues with the morale. Photo: TaleWorlds

If you ever find yourself in the relief effort of a besieged castle, then you once again have options. You can either storm the besiegers right away, and in turn see the remaining troops in the besieged structure come out to help you drive them back. Or, if you want a more strategic approach, you can try cutting off the supply lines by staying mobile just on the enemy camp’s outskirts. If you go this route, you’ll frequently find reinforcements for the besieging army, many of which you can cut down in order to force the main army to either back off or fight without precious reinforcements.

Mount & Blade in general thrives on these kinds of winding paths to take, with each strategic decision bearing different kinds of effects on your whole crusade. Above all else, though, it’s important to remember that your decisions should reflect how you want your opponents to see you, as it should be in every battle and full-scale war.

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord will be released on PC at a still unspecified time.